Sisal buff oil impregnation method



United States Patent ()r SISAL BUFF OIL IMPREGNATION METHOD James L. B.Vaughan, Theodore W. Hislop, and Douglas H. Hanna, Toronto, Ontario,Canada, assignors to Canadian Hanson and Van Winkle Company Limited,Toronto, Ontario, Canada, a corporation of Canada No Drawing.Application January 16, 1956 Serial No. 559,132

Claims priority, application Canada October 28, 1955 3 'Claims. (Cl.117-143) This invention relates to a new method for the treatment offibre buffs for the purpose of improving their wear resistance.

It is well known that a fibre bufli' consists of a series of cut andsewn sections of fibrous material put together to form a wheel. As theWheel revolves on a spindle, a bufling compound is applied thereto withthe result that when the metal surface is brought into contact with thewheel, imperfections in the metal are removed and a smooth andbrightsurface is produced which is suitable for further finishing. Thefibrous material used in the buff may be cotton, nylon, sisal or anyother suitable natural or synthetic fibrous material. Sisal, which is anaturally occurring grass, is exceptionally well suited for buffsdesigned for the treatment of steel surfaces.

Because of their continuous frictional contact with metal surfaces andtheir flexing action, fibre buffs normally wear out very quickly andeasily. Accordingly, numerous attempts have heretofore been made toincrease their wear resistance by applying thereto variousWater-insoluble adhesive materials, such as drying and semi-drying oils,in order to hold the fibres together during use and reduce the internalfriction from flexing of the buffs, thus improving their affinity forthe greases contained in the bufiing compounds. A better head of buflingcompound should thus be built up which would adhere to the buds andprevent wearing out during contact with metal surfaces. Those attemptshave, however, proved unsatisfactory mainly because of the methods bywhich the adhesive materials had to be applied to the buffs. Thesemethods generally consisted in impregnating the bufis with solutions ofthe oils in organic solvents and thereafter evaporating the solvents,thus presenting a great fire hazard for the environment as well as agreat danger of intoxication for the operators. Furthermore, thosemethods proved uneconomical because of the cost of the solvents as wellas the cost of the solvent recovery equipment required.

It is an object of this invention to provide a new method for improvingthe wear resistance of fibre buffs which does not present any firehazard or danger of intoxication and does not entail the aforesaidundesirable cost because it does not involve the use of organicsolvents.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a method whichresults in an exceptionally good adhesion to the buifs of the materialsinvolved as well as in an excellent penetration of the said materials.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Broadly speaking, the invention comprises impregnating the fibre bufiswith an aqueous emulsion of a drying or semi-drying oil, and thereafterheating the impregnated buffs to a temperature of from 70 F. to about300 F. The use of a drying or semi-drying oil in aqueous emulsionrenders inflammable, toxic and costly organic solvents unnecessary forthe buff treatment.

More particularly, the invention comprises immersing the fibre bufis inthe aforesaid emulsion until penetration ice of the fibrous material iscomplete, then removing excess emulsion from the buffs by spinning themor by compressing them in a hydraulic press, and thereafter heating themto a temperature of from 70 F. to about 300 F. to evaporate the Waterand cure the oil to a point where the fibres have been properly bondedor lubricated, and the surface has acquired the correct tackiness to bereceptive to the bufiing compound later to be applied thereto.

Amongst the drying or semi-drying oils which can be used in the methodof the invention, there may be mentioned linseed oil, tung oil, soyabean oil, blown hemp seed oil, castor oil, perilla oil, menhaden oil,mutton tallow and sulphonated oils.

It is desirable that an emulsifying agent be incorporated in theemulsion for the purpose of stabilizing the same and also of ensuringproper penetration and adhesion 'of the oil into and to the fibrousmaterial of the buffs.

Any emulsifying agent which is compatible with the oil can thus beincorporated, singly or in combination, and may advantageously bevolatile so that it can be evaporated together with the Water during thebuff heating stage and thus yield a buff which is more water resistant.Monoethanolamine has been found to be a very desirable emulsifier fromthe standpoints of economy and convenience.

Preferably, the emulsion should also contain an oildrying agent such asa metal naphthenate to promote the oxidation of the oil and hence speedup the curing thereof, thus producing a treated bufi which is lessliable to change during storage due to further oxidation of the oil.

Improved results are also obtained by the incorporation in the emulsionof natural or synthetic resins which are compatible with the saidemulsion, such as polyamides, polyesters, phenol/formaldehydecondensates, urea/formaldehyde condensates, vinyl polymers, terpeneresins, alkyds, dammar gums, manilla gums, pontianak gums, copal gums,accroides gums, sandarac, mastic and kauri gums, etc. These resin can beemployed singly or in combination to partially replace or to supplementthe oil in the emulsion.

Other additives, such as tall oil, lard oil, etc., can be incorporatedin the emulsion for the purpose of modifying the properties of thetreated buff from the standpoints of tackiness, lubrication, etc.

The proportions of the emulsion ingredients can vary Within wide limitsdepending upon the properties desired in the final buff, having regardto the metal surfaces to be treated thereby. Thus the bonding materialwhich com-prises the oil, with or without resin, can be present inamounts ranging from 5% to 60% by Weight of the total emulsion and theconcentration of the emulsifier, if present, can vary from 0.5% to 10%by weight of the emulsion. Oil-drying agents, if present, may be used ina concentration ranging from 0.25% to 5% by weight of the emulsion.

The time for impregnating the buff with the emulsion is not critical andis governed by the rate of penetration of the emulsion. Similarly, theheating time of the impregnated buff is governed by the rate of curingof the bonding material.

The following are examples of emulsions which have been found eminentlysuitable for the treatment of sisal buffs according to the method of theinvention.

Emulsion 2 Heavy bodied raw linseed oil 20.0 Refined tall oil 1.0Monoethano'larnine 0.5 -Lead naphthenate drier 1.12 .Cobalt naphthenatedrier 0.09 Water 77.29

Emulsion 3 Heavy bodied raw linseed oil 12.5 Pure drying alkyd resin12.5 Refined tall oil 1.0

Monoethanolamine 1.0 Lead naphthenate drier 0.5 Cobalt naphthenate drier0.1 Water 72.4

It is to be understood that the above examples are merely illustrativeembodiments of the invention and that the scope of the invention is notlimited thereto.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A method for improving the wear resistance of a sisal buff whichcomprises impregnating said hull with .an aqueous emulsion containing,in percentage by weight of the emulsion, about 27.0% of heavy bodiedsoya bean oil and about 0.8% of an emulsifying agent, and thereafterheating the impregnated buff to a temperature of from 70 F. to about 300F.

2. A method for improving the wear resistance of a sisal buff whichcomprises impregnating said bufi with an aqueous emulsion containing, inpercentage by weight of the emulsion, about 20.0% of linseed oil, about1.0% of refined tall oil, about 0.5% of an emulsifying agent and about1.21% of drier, and thereafter heating the impregnated buff to atemperature of from F. to about 300 F.

3. A method for improving the wear resistance of a sisal bufli whichcomprises impregnating said buff with an emulsion containing, inpercentage by weight of the emulsion, about 12.5% of linseed oil, about12.5% of an alkyd resin, about 1.0% of refined tall oil, about 1.0% ofan emulsifying agent and about 0.6% of drier, and thereafter heating theimpregnated bufi to a temperature of from 70 F. to about 300 F.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,749,410 Brown Mar. 4, 1930 1,794,342 Reilly Feb. 24, 1931 2,097,012Bartell Oct. 26, 1937 2,272,057 Cheetham Feb. 3, 1942 2,295,699Thackston Sept. 15, 1942 2,388,867 Peterson Nov. 13, 194.5 2,610,927Foulds Sept. 16, 1952 2,657,151 Gensel Oct. 27, 1953 2,747,981 Brown May29, 1956 OTHER REFERENCES Ellis: The Chemistry of Synthetic Resins, vol.II, copyright 1935 (pp. 946-7 relied on).

1. A METHOD FOR IMPROVING THE WEAR RESISTANCE OF A SISAL BUFF WHICHCOMPRISES IMPREGNATING SAID BUFF WITH AN AQUEOUS EMULSION CONTAINING, INPERCENTAGE BY WEIGHT OF THE EMULSION, ABOUT 27.0% OF HEAVY BODIED SOYABEAN OIL AND ABOUT 0.8% OF AN EMULSIFYING AGENT, AND THEREAFTER HEATINGTHE IMPREGNATED BUFF TO A TEMPERATURE OF FROM 70*F. TO ABOUT 300*F.